


I Love You Too, Pickle

by Nota_Bene



Category: Spaced
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29523948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nota_Bene/pseuds/Nota_Bene
Summary: Tim and Daisy love each other, duh.
Relationships: Tim Bisley/Daisy Steiner
Kudos: 1





	I Love You Too, Pickle

Tim took Daisy’s letter from Mike’s hand with a bewildered look, and opened it to read:

_Dear Tim,_

_This is really hard, but I need to move on. There’s a job in Colwyn Bay and I’m going on the 10:45 train. I will miss Colin, and I will miss you. A lot. I just need to figure out what I’m doing and I think I need a change of scenery. I’ve loved living with you and being your friend. I still am your friend. I just need some space. You can afford the flat on your own, or Mike can move in._

_I can hear you say “Skip to the end.”_

_I know you love Sophie. ~~But I love~~_

_I do love you, Tim. Probably more than you know. I never told you, but you are my real best friend. The best friend I’ve ever had._

_I hope this hurts less when I see you again._

_Love,_   
_Daisy_

“Well?” said Mike.

Tim was speechless, and handed over the letter. Mike scanned it quickly.

“I know how you feel about her, Tim. You do, too.”

Tim nodded, and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He tried again.

“Mike,” he began, but couldn’t continue.

“I know, Tim. I know.”

Tim took a deep breath. “How much time do I have?”

*******

“Alright, we have a plan. What do you need to do right now?” Mike was all business.

“I need to write Sophie a letter for you to give her.”

“Right. I’ll go get the beast ready.”

“Wait, should I just skateboard?”

“I thought you were taking Colin?”

“Oh, right. Okay, give me five minutes. That will still give me” – Tim checked the clock – “thirty minutes to get to the station and stop Daisy.”

Tim sat down at the kitchen table and pulled the pad to him. He stared at it a moment, knowing it was the same pad Daisy had used a few hours before to try to say goodbye to him. But no, he told himself with a shake of his head. He couldn’t dwell on that. Right now he had to find the words to explain this to Sophie.

_Dear Sophie,_

_I’m sorry I can’t be there to take you to the airport and say goodbye. I would have liked to see you one more time, but Daisy is at a train station right now and I need to stop her._

_When I read her goodbye letter, after you left, I realized what I should have figured out a long time ago. I think you already know._

_I love her. I’ve always loved her. You suspected, didn’t you?_

_Thank you, Sophie. You made me feel desired and funny and handsome for the first time in a long time, and I’ll always be grateful. You aren’t my one, but you’ll be somebody’s. You are beautiful, smart, sexy and wonderful._

_I hope we can stay friends. I don’t think I’m breaking your heart. I hope I’m not._

_I wonder if you know if Daisy loves me? I’m about to find out, and I am deliriously happy and also scared shitless._

_I’ll write again soon._

_Love,_   
_Tim_

He folded it shut and scrawled Sophie’s name on the outside. He didn’t bother sealing it, and he didn’t care if Mike read it. They had no secrets.

“Come on, Colin,” he called out in the direction of the couch. “Let’s go get your mum.”

*******

Tim pulled into the station concourse and yelled impatiently at people to move aside. He saw Daisy straight ahead, looking dejected. She didn’t notice him til he was almost upon her, and she didn’t smile as he stopped the robot next to her bench.

They felt their way through a conversation, and when she asked him the second time if he wanted her to stay, he said YES! so forcefully that he felt her relax for the first time.

They walked home, happy together for the first time in weeks. He traded spots with her on the robot for a few minutes, but she felt dumb riding, so they settled for giving him all the baggage and the dog while she walked beside him.

She tentatively brought up Sophie again. He had said at the station that she wasn’t the one, but Daisy needed to be sure.

“It’s okay to miss Sophie, even if she’s not the one.”

“I know,” he said noncommittally.

She pushed again. “Are you going to call her tonight?”

Tim realized Daisy was hinting at more, and he smiled to himself. He turned the force of his gaze on her.

“No. It’s over.”

“But does she know it’s over?”

“I wrote her a letter. Before I came to get you.”

“Oh?” she said, very casually.

Tim didn’t really want to have this particular conversation while sat on a robot on the high street.

“I’ll tell you about it over tea, okay?”

“Okay.”

Once back at the flat with the robot safely locked away in the shed and their tea brewing in mugs at the kitchen table, Tim and Daisy buzzed with nervous energy.

“Was it a good job, then?” Tim asked as they sat down at the table, facing each other.

“Yes. But it was in Wales.”

“True. You’ll find one here, Dais. Or you’ll keep freelancing. Or we’ll go to Colwyn Bay together. I can work anywhere, you know.”

“Can you?”

“Sure.”

“And you’d want to? Go together?”

“We belong together, Daisy. That’s why I went to get you.”

“Best friends.”

“Yes.”

Their gaze locked for a moment longer than usual. _Tell her._

“So what did you tell Sophie?”

“The truth. That I had to stop you, so I couldn’t take her to the airport, and that what she and I had wasn’t true love, and that she and I were meant to be just friends.”

“Do you think she thinks it wasn’t true love?”

“Daisy, it lasted two weeks. I know it wasn’t. She knows it wasn’t.”

“But you’ll miss her. She was so beautiful.”

“She was. But I don’t think I will.” _I’m in love with you!_

“Okay.”

“I need to do some laundry, d’you want me to take anything?”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Alright,” he smiled. _Daisy, marry me._

They spent the rest of the day in their domestic cocoon, doing laundry and then tidying the flat and cooking dinner. Unbeknownst to Daisy, Tim was working to remove any trace of Sophie’s scent from his room.

He knew, logically, that he couldn’t come clean to Daisy that day. He knew he needed to put some space between Sophie and Daisy, just out of respect for Daisy. While it felt to him that entire eons had passed since he’d been with Sophie that morning, since his mind had been blown by the realization that he loved Daisy, since he’d realized how deep that love went and what he wanted from their future together – in reality, he had spent last night with Sophie and kissed her that morning, and he knew Daisy might reject him if he went too fast. He had to do this right.

That evening they settled on the bean bag together with Colin, and Daisy put her head on his shoulder. Tim took a deep breath, and felt the weight of her head on him, and smiled. He leaned his head back onto hers.

After just a few minutes, she fell asleep on him, and when the programme ended, he roused her as gently as he could.

“Dais, wake up.”

“Mmmm,” she said as she snuggled against him.

“Daisy, it’s late. Time to get to bed.”

“Tim,” she murmured.

“Yes?” he whispered, holding his breath.

“I love you,” she said, her eyes still closed.

“I love you too, Pickle. Come on.” He stood and hauled her upright by her hands, catching her against him. He held onto her and she wrapped her arms around his back. Her head rested against his shoulder and she got heavier as sleep overtook her again.

He walked her to her room, awkwardly. At her door she finally woke enough to see where she was and then looked him in the face, blinking sleepily.

“Oh, ‘s bedtime?”

“Yes. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Alright. Good night, Tim.”

“Good night, Daisy,” he returned. They gazed into each other’s eyes and then before he could stop himself, he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. He wound his arms around her back and held her tight against him as his lips pressed into her warm, soft skin. Other than the fact that it wasn’t an actual kiss, he felt like Humphrey Bogart taking Ingrid Bergman into his arms.

He drew back, quite against his will.

She blinked up at him and then leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek, winding her arms around his neck.

He was breathing so heavily, it was embarrassing.

Far too quickly, she pulled away and took her arms off his shoulders. She had the strangest look on her face. He couldn’t read it.

“Good night, Daisy.”

“Good night, Tim.”

She went in her room and shut the door softly. Tim went directly to his bed and sat down with his face in his hands. _Fuck._ How long could he do this?

*******

Daisy woke up abruptly at 6 am, with a sense memory of Tim’s lips on her cheek and his strong arms around her back.

Had that actually happened? Had she dreamed it? It felt so real, but nothing that overt had ever happened between them, so she wasn’t sure.

She loved him, that was real. She was head over heels in love with her best friend.

She’d known for at least as long as he’d been with Sophie, but she’d been in love with him a lot longer than that. It had struck her like a shot one night early on when he’d left the flat with Sophie, and she had been shocked with the knowledge for minutes on end after they’d left.

She went over it again in her mind.

When had it started?

Back at the café, right at the beginning? She remembered using a napkin to wipe a bit of crumb off his mustache, and a charged look, and thinking _Oh blimey._

There had been countless moments at the flat.

There had been moments at the pub, at the club, at the movies or at a concert. Where if just a few molecules had shifted, her lips would have been on his and they would have just sunk into it.

But he’d been in love with Sarah, and then she’d been in Asia, and then he’d been in love with Sophie. Once she figured it out, there was never a chance for her to tell him. Or show him.

She didn’t know why she’d chosen yesterday to leave.

She hadn’t known Sophie was leaving, and she couldn’t watch him fall in love with someone else. Even if she had known, she couldn’t watch him suffer another broken heart, help him pick himself up, and then sit back while he fell in love with yet another girl that wasn’t her.

She had to get out. The job in Colwyn Bay was an excuse. She knew it had a good chance of not happening, that there was a strong probability that in six months’ time she’d be waitressing somewhere in Wales and missing Tim. But staying in London and watching Tim chase other girls – what exactly was she holding on for?

She’d sat in their kitchen and written him a letter. She’d almost confessed. She had written that she loved him, but she’d wimped out and not clarified that she was actually in love with him. There was no point, she figured.

She hadn’t expected him to come get her, not really.

And when he showed up, he hadn’t confessed his love or done anything that would suggest it was anything other than one friend stopping another friend from making a mistake.

She’d fallen asleep last night with her head on his shoulder and his head on hers, breathing in his warm Tim smell. She didn’t really remember how she’d gotten into bed.

But there was that memory of his lips on her cheek, and being surrounded by his warm, solid arms.

Then she suddenly remembered kissing his cheek, and putting her arms around his neck.

Oh god, it was real.

Suddenly, she heard him start moving around his room, trying to be quiet and failing. Well, now she had to face him. She had no idea how to keep it to herself that she loved him, when all she wanted to say was she was sorry he was in pain but could he please kiss her already?

Because he’d tried to convince her that he wasn’t in pain, that he didn’t miss Sophie, but she didn’t know whether to believe that.

She heard him go to the bathroom, then come back and shut his bedroom door again, so she picked out knickers, a bra, a dress and sandals, dashed to the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

She showered, shaved her legs, blew dry her hair and then spent far more time than usual in the mirror. She even put on makeup.

She imagined walking into the kitchen and seeing him at the table, his eyes agog at his beautiful roommate who he loved, and a slow motion walk towards each other and a kiss that stretched on for minutes on end.

_Tim, did you want to kiss me last night?_

_Yes, Daisy, of course I did. I’ve wanted to kiss you for two years._

_Me, too._

Well, hopefully the actual words would be better than that.

She finally opened the bathroom door, walked out, and barreled right into Tim’s chest as he rounded the table to open the fridge.

*******

“Oi, Daisy, sorry!”

His hands held her elbows and his eyes landed right on her cleavage, then fled guiltily up to hers.

Her hands had gone to his waist involuntarily, and she snatched them back.

“Tim, sorry, hi!”

“Hi,” he said rather breathlessly, keeping his eyes above her neck but mentally reviewing her outfit. “Are you going somewhere? You look really nice.”

His hands were still on her elbows, which he seemed to realize all of a sudden so he dropped them to his sides.

“No, just thought I’d dress up a bit, enjoy the day.”

“You look really nice.”

She just smiled at him warmly.

They edged around each other as she moved to the sink to fill the kettle and he opened the fridge.

“Thanks for putting me to bed last night,” she said, facing the window. She instantly cringed as that sounded way more intimate than she’d meant. “I was so tired, I can’t even remember how I got there.” She placed the kettle in its base and switched it on.

Tim paused. She didn’t remember? Did that mean she didn’t know about the innocent I love yous and kisses that had kept him waking up fitfully all night?

“You were tired.” He didn’t know what else to say.

“What’s on today?” she asked, in what she hoped was a breezy tone, turning around to look at him.

_Let’s pack a picnic and go make out in the park,_ he thought.

“Um,” he said.

Daisy looked at him over the fridge door and their eyes locked together. His were brown and blue all at once and so deep she never wanted to stop looking at him. Hers were blue and grey like the ocean and he stared and stared.

“Tim,” she began.

He closed the fridge and crossed the few steps to her.

“Daisy,” he replied and ducked his head down to kiss her.

Their lips pressed together and then opened. She took a step towards him and their bodies collided and their arms flew around each other. He held her to him so tightly and she clutched him back just as hard.

The kettle began shrieking a moment later and they pulled apart in a daze. He reached over and flipped the switch and then pushed back into her space and resumed the kiss.

The kiss was overwhelming for Daisy. Tim’s lips were soft and forceful and his mustache brushed over her skin in the most sensory way. She could feel every one of his fingers digging into her back and the warmth of his body surrounded her. He kissed her like he was about to ship out to sea for a year.

She tried to match his intensity, which wasn’t hard, because she had never been more in love with anyone than she was right now with Tim. She had thrown her arms around his neck and was running her hands through his soft hair.

He finally pulled away to look at her.

He was breathing hard, as was she.

“I can’t believe you almost left me.”

“I can’t believe you came to get me.”

“I’m in love with you. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it until you left.”

“I’m in love with you. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it until you got a girlfriend.”

“Daisy, I just realized it, but I’ve loved you from the start.”

“Me too, Tim.”

“So, back to bed?”


End file.
